Criminal charges will not be sought against former Hamilton Township fiscal officer Jackie Terwilleger.

LEBANON -- Criminal charges will not be sought against one of Warren County's longest-tenured local officials, who resigned from her post amid accusations of misconduct.

Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell announced Thursday that while an investigation revealed former Hamilton Township fiscal officer Jackie Terwilleger was "grossly incompetent" in her duties, he found insufficient evidence of criminal intent to support filing criminal charges against her.

In February, township trustees unanimously called for a criminal investigation into allegations Terwilleger falsified checks written on the township's account and authorized payments without trustees' approval. Other allegations accused Terwilleger of improperly deferring state compensation payments.

Terwilleger, who had held the publicly elected office of fiscal officer for 34 years, announced her retirement in March.

Fornshell said his office enlisted the assistance of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to avoid a conflict of interest in Hamilton Township's police department investigating the case.

While criminal charges won't be filed, Fornshell said he expects Ohio Auditor Dave Yost to issue a finding for recovery against Terwilleger for $6,834.

That amount is to cover overpayments Terwilleger made as fiscal officer to the Ohio Public Employees Deferred Compensation Program between 2011 and 2014 but which were not deducted from her payroll, he said.

In April, Yost placed the township in fiscal emergency, citing current deficits of $2.5 million in its road and bridge and new administration building funds and a more than $1 million treasury deficit.

Audits conducted of the township's finances by state-certified auditors for fiscal years 2002-09 reveal numerous violations of state law, many of which were repeat violations.

Those errors, officials have said, were made by Terwilleger, who oversaw and managed the township's finances.

Ray Warrick, a vocal critic of Terwilleger who was appointed by trustees as fiscal officer in April to fill the remainder of her term through 2016, said township officials are evaluating their options in recovering some of the "lost money" incurred by Terwilleger.

"While they determined there's no criminal activity, I'm not sure if there's no civil problems. A lot of the errors cost the township money," he said.